Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey emerged from a closed-door meeting with U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas and other members of congress to announce measures aimed at improving the military's response to sexual assault.

Two months ago, in February 2012, a victory was won in the battle for more effective legal provisions for women in Pakistan, with the Senate approving the National Commission on the Status of Women Bill 2012. By creating an independent Secretariat for Pakistan's National Commission for Women, the law is viewed by many as strengthening the Commission's financial and administrative autonomy.

A new partnership between the EU and UN Women set up to strengthen cooperation between the two organizations on their work on empowering women and gender equality, was today signed by High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/ Vice President of the Commission Catherine Ashton and Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs, with Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women Michelle Bachelet.

Sri Lanka, an island known as the pearl of the Indian Ocean, boasts an exotic beauty – attracting thousands of tourists every year.

It's this public face of pride, serenity and beauty which the government seek to portray, whereas, the reality is far worse.

For the first time, an empirical study proved that female genital mutilation is also prevalent in parts of Iraq beyond the borders of the Kurdish Region. WADI and the local women's rights organization PANA have conducted an in-depth research about the existence and background of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Kirkuk. They interviewed 1212 women above the age of 14 and asked each of them 61 questions.

The United States has not had an easy couple of months in Afghanistan. With news of the kill teams in Kandahar, the recent killing of 16 unarmed civilians by a rogue American soldier, and the controversy surrounding Quran burnings, public sentiment on the war by Afghanis and Americans alike is at an all-time low.

The Philippines is on track in achieving the Millennium Development Goals particularly in education, health, women and children, President Benigno S. Aquino III told visiting Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia Quentin Bryce on Thursday.

Young Afghans braved fears of violence to join a rare march on parliament to demand justice for the women who have been killed, beaten and abused this year – including one they said was beheaded by her own husband.

No politicians came out to meet them, underlining the group's claim that officials are not serious about tackling the suffering of women, despite a law that aims to end the abuse.

Most of the Pacific Islands region continues to be one of the least women-friendly places in the world. Although many of its leaders spout platitudes about respect for women in Pacific cultures, statistical records show some of the worst skews in gender parity on several fronts—ranging from health and education to employment, and business and political participation.

MYANMAR'S Election Commission announced last week the landslide victory of the opposition National League of Democracy (NLD) party, winning 43 out of 44 parliamentary seats (97 percent) in the by-elections of April 1.After the television announced the triumph, rapturous crowds thronged the streets yelling Aung San Suu Kyi's name.The victory will not result in more power for the NLD but it was taken seriously by supporters of Suu Kyi because it